Not Necessarily Victory Road

One of several wells to which RNA returns too often is the incessant, repetitive claim that some event “will change everything” for the promotion. It’s true that pay per views sometimes bring seismic upheavals, but TNA hypes events “that will change everything” more often than some people change their underwear.

Victory Road changed nothing. That’s not an accusation; it’s a statement of fact.

OK, that might be an exaggerated statement of fact. A few things did change, like Angelina Love winning back the Knockout Championship on a swerve even lamer than the way Tara lost it a couple of months ago.

It’s fairer to say that nothing really important changed at Victory Road. It’s also fair to ay that Victory Road delivered a lot of exciting action. I graded Victory Rod a B/B+ with a strong top-to-bottom card. Even the Jay Lethal-Ric Flair match wasn’t quite the total calamity many of us expected.

A pay per view doesn’t have to “change everything” if the matches are hot.

In the spirit of that declaration, I’ve decided to devote this edition of The Katz Files to all the things that didn’t happen at TNA’s July pay per view. (The next installment of The Katz Files will analyze and interpret some of the things that actually did occur at Victory Road.)

A Who’s Who of Who Wasn’t at Victory Road

Sting. They decided to cool him off for a month or so. Maybe he has an injury or, perhaps, TNA hopes that fans will forget the “Deception” angle by the time he returns.

Jeff Jarrett. They’re giving him some time away from the show. Injuries may well play a role here, too, though they don’t seem to have a direction picked out for him, going forward.

Suicide. The Masked Marvel, briefly brought back on iMPACT with Kyoshi under the hood, didn’t put in an appearance at VR. TNA needs to bring back Suicid3, with Daniels playing the role, and aim him at Douglas Williams.

Chelsea. It looks like the Wolfe-Abyss angle is dead. The coroner’s verdict will read: “Death by Negligence and Neglect. They could revive it, now that Abyss is a heel again, by having Chelsea valet for both men. Eventually, they could feud over the woman.

Gone But Not Forgotten
The releases from the Knockout Division are really taking their toll. Banished within recent memory were Awesome Kong, Raisha Saeed/Alissa Flash, Roxxi, Tara and ODB are all now former members of the TNA roster.

The Knockout Division used to be one of TNA’s few points of superiority over WWE. Now they’ve ruined it. The Knockout Division’s remaining wrestlers are not noticeably better, if as good, as those in WWE – and Vince McMahon’s women are better-looking.

The Pope Didn’t Turn>/B>
He and Angle shook hands at the start of their match and embraced after Kurt, as expected, scored the victory.

A lot of pundits expected Dinero to turn heel and that may even have been the plan. Fan support has been so strong, though, that it would be a mistake to turn him, at least at this time.

At this point, he and Kurt Angle are ships that passed in the night. The Pope needs a new crusade.

Mr. Anderson Didn’t Turn
Wrestling reality is extremely variable, so it’s possible that the next iMPACT will make it conform to what seemed to be some misdirected commentary/ Otherwise, Anderson stayed in the babyface column.

Mr. Anderson really seems to have hit on something. He is becoming the same kind of slightly off-the-wall hero as WWE’s John Cena. This is no time to derail the A** Train.

Paul Heyman Didn’t Debut
This may well be only a matter of timing, but TNA probably hopes to do something with him as the head of the emerging Dreamer-Rhino-Dr. Stevie-Raven faction. Who knows what changes that could’ve sparked?

Heyman has said he wants to work behind the scenes, but it would be a shame to deny TNA is great on-screen presence.

That’s all for this installment of the Internet’s fastest-rising pro wrestling column. I’ll be back on Thursday with my analysis of Victory Road. I hope you’ll join me then and, please, bring your friends.

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